The Houston Texans were 10-7, won the AFC South, and won a playoff game in the 2024 season, which is exactly the same thing they did in 2023 when quarterback C.J. Stroud was a rookie.
However, if you dig a little deeper, something was off last season, and a handful of stats revealed some potential glaring concerns about Stroud’s performance.
Analyst Warren Sharp posted a comparison of Stroud’s 2024 season to 2023, and he noted that the QB regressed in nearly every major category, including yards per attempt, completion percentage, touchdown-to-interception ratio, sack rate and pressure rate.
C.J. Stroud: 2024 vs 2023
worse in 2024 in ALL these stats:
EPA/att
success rate
YPA
completion %
accuracy
TD:INT ratio
explosive pass rate
3rd down conv rate
sack rate
pressure rateBobby Slowik is gone
but how does Houston get Stroud back on track?https://t.co/FvLTan7538
— Warren Sharp (@SharpFootball) April 18, 2025
Offensive coordinator Bobby Slowik is now the passing game coordinator for the Miami Dolphins, so Stroud will have to adjust to a new staff.
After the 2023 season, Slowik was one of the hottest young head coaching candidates, but after the regression in 2024, he was let go by the Texans.
The bottom line is that Stroud has to be better to re-establish his place as one of the league’s brightest young quarterbacks, and that starts with his offensive line, as he was sacked 52 times in 2024, after 38 times as a rookie.
Stefon Diggs, Tank Dell and Nico Collins all missed significant time due to injury last season, so for Stroud to be better, his wide receivers need to be healthy as well.
The stats are tough to look at, but Stroud is young, so there is no reason to worry just yet.
